sprinklern.
/ˈsprɪŋklə/, /ˈsprɪŋkl̩ə/, U.S. /ˈsprɪŋk(ə)lər/ 1.
a. A container or device used for sprinkling water, perfume, or other substances.In figurative context in quot. 1686.
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the world > matter > liquid > liquid flow > action or process of sprinkling > [noun] > sprinkler
sprinklea1382
sprinkler1535
springer1601
sprinker1648
aspergilluma1657
sperge1676
rose1706
rose head1742
whisk1745
asperge1848
rose nozzle1848
rose sprinkler1856
water head1856
sparger1858
sprinkler installation1887
the world > space > relative position > arrangement or fact of being arranged > state of being scattered or dispersed > [noun] > scattering in small particles or sprinkling > one who or that which > that which
sprentc1400
sprinkler1535
1535 Bible (Coverdale) Jer. lii. C They toke awaye also the Cauldrons, shouels,..sprinklers [Ger. Becken], spones & all the brasen vessell.
1686 J. Goad Astro-meteorologica ii. iii. 192 They are the Sprinklers, the Water-Pots of Heaven.
1697 J. Evelyn Numismata iii. 48 The Lustral Sprinklers, and other Vasa, and Utensils of Sacrifice, Libations and Augury.
?1720 J. F. de la Fond Beauties Lang. of Princes 48/1 Arrosoir, Sprinkler; that is, Watering-pot...The Water comes out of it small like Dew.
1874 H. H. Cole Catal. Objects Indian Art S. Kensington Mus. 137 Bottle, or Rose-water Sprinkler.
1882 Rep. Director of Mint Production of Precious Metals in U.S. 152 Cold water..is forced through a fine sprinkler and falls upon them in a spray.
1932 Pop. Sci. Monthly Dec. 57/1 (caption) Clothes sprinkler. A rubber hose, having a bulb and nozzle, is a convenient sprinkler.
1983 E. Baer Metalwork in Medieval Islamic Art ii. ii. 45 Incense burners and perfume sprinklers were intimately related in their use.
2000 Wired Jan. 222/3 Everything is state-of-the-art: mirrored-reality projections, floating holograms, aroma sprinklers.
b. A machine or vehicle used for sprinkling roads, fields, etc., with water or other liquids. Cf. sense 1d.
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the world > matter > liquid > liquid flow > action or process of sprinkling > [noun] > sprinkler > machine
sprinkler1832
1832 New Eng. Farmer 14 Mar. 278/1 A sprinkler, such as is used for watering the streets of cities.
1879 J. H. Comstock Rep. Cotton Insects i. vii. 252 (caption) W. T. Robinson's combined sprinkler and duster [for destruction of the cotton-worm].
1921 Rep. Director Nat. Park Service (U.S. Dept. Interior) 164 A two-horse sprinkler was stationed at Old Faithful to sprinkle around the hotel.
1961 H. J. Hine Dict. Agric. Engin. 130 It is possible to divide up the methods of overhead application to field soil into spray lines, sprinklers and rainers.
2014 Press (Christchurch, N.Z.) (Nexis) 15 Mar. 7 Nov. Sprinklers and a water cart had been deployed by the property manager to lessen the dust.
c. Originally: a fire protection system consisting of a network of perforated pipes used to discharge water onto the site of a fire. Later: one of a number of devices forming part of a fire protection system used esp. in large public or commercial buildings, consisting of a spray head installed in the ceiling, which discharges water when triggered by the heat of a fire; cf. fire sprinkler n. at fire n. and int. Compounds 2a.
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the world > matter > properties of materials > temperature > coldness > extinguishing fire > [noun] > fire-fighting > a substance or apparatus for extinguishing > sprinkler
sprinkler1865
fire sprinkler1867
sprinkler system1876
sprinkler installation1887
1865 Civil Engineer & Architects's Jrnl. 28 230/1 A sprinkler consists of a net-work of pipes perforated with small holes, so arranged..that when a valve connecting the sprinkler with the main pipes is opened, the water will..escape at the perforations.
1887 Pall Mall Gaz. 4 June 12/1 Each sprinkler commands all fire within an area of 100 square feet on the floor.
1922 T. M. Lowry Inorg. Chem. xxxvi. 715 These alloys are used..in fire-protection systems for closing automatic sprinklers.
1960 Financial Times 24 Oct. 10/7 When sprinklers are installed ordinary first-hand appliances are still necessary for dealing with minor outbreaks.
2016 Post Mag. (Nexis) 2 Aug. We urge the government to modernise fire prevention rules by legislating for compulsory sprinklers in all new schools and care homes.
d. A device for watering (large) areas of lawn or garden planting, typically consisting of a perforated revolving nozzle or oscillating bar which may be attached to a hosepipe.Recorded earliest in lawn-sprinkler n. at lawn n.2 Compounds 2.
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a1884 E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. Suppl. 533/1 Lawn Sprinkler.
1924 Condor 26 227 While watering my lawn at Alameda, California, I placed the sprinkler in position and had just turned on the water when an adult male Anna Hummingbird..flew into..the dense spray.
1956 Times 31 Mar. 9/5 Nowadays we have many types of irrigation equipment for the small garden. We have small sprinklers that will water a circle of six yards diameter.
1990 Independent (Nexis) 28 July 7 The phut-phutting of the sprinklers across the rugby pitch disturbed the hush.
2015 BBC Gardeners' World (Special Subscriber ed.) Aug. 55/1 The thing not to do is to get the sprinkler out.
2. An implement used for sprinkling holy water, typically a brush or a small, round, perforated container with a straight handle; an aspergillum. Cf. holy water sprinkler n. at holy water n. Compounds 2.
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society > faith > artefacts > implement (general) > aspergillum > [noun]
strinklec1175
sprinklea1382
springelc1390
sprentc1400
holy-water stick1413
stick1413
holy-water sprinklec1440
holy-water strinklec1440
dashel1502
sprink1566
asperges1570
sprinkler1577
aspergilluma1657
aspergoire1772
hyssop1838
mop1838
asperge1848
aspersoir1851
aspergill1864
aspersory1881
asperser1882
1577 H. I. tr. H. Bullinger 50 Godlie Serm. II. iii. vi. sig. H.viijv/2 The holie cleansinge water.., which they did sprinckle with a sprinckler [L. aspergillo] made of hysope.
1656 tr. J. A. Comenius Latinæ Linguæ Janua Reserata: Gate Lat. Tongue Unlocked xcvii. §967 To sprinkle with Holy-water (taken out of a pot with a sprinkler).
1700 P. Motteux et al. tr. M. de Cervantes Hist. Don Quixote I. i. vi. 45 The Housekeeper..return'd immediately with a Holy-water-pot and a Sprinkler.
a1762 W. McEwen Grace & Truth (1763) ii. xi. 157 The cedar wood, the scarlet, and the hyssop, were the materials of which they made the sprinkler.
1862 G. Borrow Wild Wales vi. 59 Then drawing forth his sprinkler, he flung the holy water in the faces of the king and his people.
1896 C. K. Paul tr. J.-K. Huysman En Route viii. 106 Dom Etienne took the sprinkler which a priest handed him.
1922 J. F. Sullivan Visible Church (rev. ed.) iii. xiv. 56 Provide a vessel containing holy water, and a sprinkler.
2000 Philadelphia Inquirer (Nexis) 30 Jan. bc01 Father Fields..waved a brass sprinkler as he walked, splashing droplets of holy water on the walls and floors.
3.
a. A person who sprinkles something. Frequently with of.
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the world > space > relative position > arrangement or fact of being arranged > state of being scattered or dispersed > [noun] > scattering in small particles or sprinkling > one who or that which
sprinkler1603
sprayer1891
1603 S. Harsnett Declar. Popish Impostures xviii. 101 Sara, or her deuil, became a sprinkler too..and.., by the pure vertue of holy water, made a deuil let goe his hold vpon Trayfords lege.
1613 S. Purchas Pilgrimage ii. viii. 128 The Merissæans or Merists, which were (as the name importeth) sprinklers of their holy-water.
1760 H. Lee tr. Thomas à Kempis Meditations i. xxiv. 71 To thee..the sprinkler of many nations, I stretch forth my hands as a thirsty land.
1809 Cobbett's Weekly Polit. Reg. 22 Apr. 602 The sweeper and sprinkler of the pavement before the shop.
1843 W. L. Tizard Theory & Pract. Brewing Index 517 Sprinklers of malt, a majority.
1977 Redlands (Calif.) Daily Facts 16 Sept. 12/5 When the cook turned the burger over on the grill, she shook a bottle of cheap red wine over it. She was a liberal sprinkler.
2007 C. J. Sundling in W. Schroder & R. Dawe Soldier's Heart 17 The little blonde girl, the sprinkler of perfumed water.
b. Christian Church. A minister who baptizes people by sprinkling water on the head, rather than by immersion; (also) an adherent or supporter of this practice.
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society > faith > worship > sacrament > baptism > kinds of baptism > by sprinkling > [noun] > person performing
sprinkler1653
1653 S. Fisher Παιδοβαπτιζοντες Παιδιζοντες: Baby-baptism 79 Being a sprinkler of infants (as you are) and as stiff a stickler for that practise as the blindest among you, I was made choise of to defend it against the Baptists.
1695 H. Mollineux Antichrist Unvailed 128 How, and by whom, are the Baptizers, Dippers and Sprinklers of this Age sent?
1756 J. Brine Baptists Vindicated 70 The Ambiguity of the Word..favours us Dippers, as much as it does Sprinklers.
a1771 J. Gill in R. MacGregor Reply to Layman's Addr. to Baptists (1773) 21 The German Anabaptists..were Sprinklers and not Baptists.
1844 O.S. Fowler Relig. Nat. & Revealed (rev. ed.) i. 19 The Baptist draws his doctrine of immersion from the same Bible from which sprinklers draw their opposite doctrine.
1895 M. Mather Lancs. Idylls vii. 321 Betty were a dipper, an' I were a sprinkler.
1903 Methodist Rev. Nov. 916 Müller an immersionist and a holder to believer's baptism only, Wesley a sprinkler and a pedobaptist.
2015 J. Harader in M. Spong There's Woman in Pulpit 42 I heard about a conversation between two pastors—a sprinkler and a dunker.
Compounds
sprinkler head n. (a) a perforated cap or nozzle attached to the spout of a watering can or the end of a hose, pipe, etc., to produce a fine spray of water; (b) a spray head forming part of a fire protection system, which is designed to discharge water when triggered by the heat of a fire; cf. sense 1c.
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1873 U.S. Patent 137,095 in Specif. & Drawings (U.S. Patent Office) 25 Mar. 677/2 In the accompanying drawing.., A is the sprinkler-head.
1882 Bucks County (Pa.) Gaz. 28 Sept. A system of automatic sprinkler heads distributed throughout the buildings which in case of fire, by the action of heat immediately apply the water where needed.
1941 Pop. Mech. June 64/2 By turning a plastic button on the sprinkler head, the..openings of the [nozzle] arms may be changed to govern the quantity of spray.
2015 N.Y. Times (National ed.) 8 Mar. (Business section) 8/4 The HVAC system was not properly installed..and sprinkler heads and other fire-stopping measures were missing or nonfunctional.
sprinkler installation n. a fire protection system incorporating sprinklers (sense 1c).
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the world > matter > liquid > liquid flow > action or process of sprinkling > [noun] > sprinkler
sprinklea1382
sprinkler1535
springer1601
sprinker1648
aspergilluma1657
sperge1676
rose1706
rose head1742
whisk1745
asperge1848
rose nozzle1848
rose sprinkler1856
water head1856
sparger1858
sprinkler installation1887
the world > matter > properties of materials > temperature > coldness > extinguishing fire > [noun] > fire-fighting > a substance or apparatus for extinguishing > sprinkler
sprinkler1865
fire sprinkler1867
sprinkler system1876
sprinkler installation1887
1887 Era 30 July 11/2 The subject of ‘sprinkler’ installations in theatres as a means to prevent fires is arousing a commendable interest.
1967 Guardian 24 May 1/6 The store had no sprinkler installation.
2009 A. M. Grice Fire Risk vii. 82 Where sprinkler installations are part of a system to protect life, then the local fire authority must be advised..of any intention to shut down any part of the system.
sprinkler irrigation n. Agriculture a form of irrigation designed to be similar to rainfall, in which water is distributed through pipes running along or above the ground and sprayed onto the soil through sprinklers (sense 1d); = spray irrigation n. at spray n.2 Compounds 3b.Earliest in attributive use.
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the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > preparation of land or soil > irrigation > [noun]
field pondage1612
pondage1612
irrigation1626
floating-trench1649
masterwork1652
floating1669
catchwork1794
warping1799
watering1799
basin irrigation1903
sprinkler irrigation1908
sprinkling irrigation1910
spray irrigation1931
spray line1961
trickle irrigation1969
chemigation1981
1908 West Australian (Perth) 8 Feb. 4/3 The big development of the sprinkler irrigation system in the Mt. Lofty gullies near Adelaide.
1927 Altoona (Pa.) Mirror 27 July 1/7 Thirty-six of these [acres] are equipped with modern sprinkler irrigation.
2016 Hort. Week (Nexis) 8 July 19 Growers without drip irrigation who rely on rainfall or sprinkler irrigation.
sprinkler system n. (a) a fire protection system incorporating sprinklers (sense 1c); (b) a watering system incorporating sprinklers (sense 1d), used for large areas of grass or planting.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > properties of materials > temperature > coldness > extinguishing fire > [noun] > fire-fighting > a substance or apparatus for extinguishing > sprinkler
sprinkler1865
fire sprinkler1867
sprinkler system1876
sprinkler installation1887
1876 N.Y. Times 10 Dec. The ‘sprinkler system,’ a series of iron pipes, circumferentially pierced with small holes.
1918 Monthly Rev. U.S. Bureau Labor Statistics Jan. 197 The company..gives the whole time of an instructor, the seeds and plants, overhead-sprinkler system, tools, wheelbarrows [etc.].
1996 R. D. Woodson Watering Syst. for Lawn & Garden 13 If you want to save time and improve the look of your lawn, you may want to consider installing an underground sprinkler system.
2011 M. Bromann Fire Protection for Commerc. Facilities xxii. 165 It's..known that 25% of all nursing home fires occur in those not equipped with sprinkler systems.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2017; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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